Freshman Rebecca Moore
stopped a season-high 20 shots to preserve Stonehill's spot in the
NE-10 Championship game for the 11th time in program history.
(PHOTO BY Richard Orr) |
2010 NORTHEAST-10
TOURNAMENT SEMIFINALS
#2 Stonehill Stifles #3 Merrimack, 15-8
Moore stops 20 shots, while
Lynott nets five goals as Skyhawks reach championship game for
11th time in conference's 12 seasons of
lacrosse
GARDEN CITY, N.Y. (May 8,
2010) – Second-seeded Stonehill College, ranked
seventh in this week's Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches
Association (IWLCA) Division II poll, held third-seeded and No.
9-ranked Merrimack College to just four goals each half in posting
a 15-8 victory in semifinal round action of the 2010 Northeast-10
Conference women's lacrosse championships, hosted by Adelphi
University, at Competition Field this afternoon.
Stonehill (13-2, 10-1 NE-10)
advances to the NE-10 championship game for the 11th
time in the Conference's 12 years sponsoring women's lacrosse as a
championship sport after a one-year absence. The Skyhawks, winners
of an NE-10 record nine tournament championships will face
top-seeded and No. 2-ranked Adelphi (15-1, 11-0 NE-10) in
tomorrow's final here at Competition Field at 1 p.m. The game will
be webcast live free of charge via www.northeast10.tv,
powered by Pack Network.
Merrimack likely sees its season
come to a close with a 12-3 record overall, 9-2 in the
Northeast-10, having reached the semifinal round of the NE-10
tournament for the eighth time in program history.
Freshman goalkeeper Rebecca Moore (Marlborough, Mass./St. Mark's
School) preserved the win for Stonehill with a season-high
20 saves, including 11 in the second half. Senior Jamie-Lee
Whiteway (Billerica, Mass./Billerica) stopped 16 shots in
goal for Merrimack, 11 coming in the second half.
Sophomore Samantha Lynott netted five goals in the Skyhawks
win. (PHOTO BY Richard Orr). |
Sophomore Samantha
Lynott (Holbrook, N.Y./Sachem East) led Stonehill's
offense with five goals on the afternoon, converting two-of-three
free-position attempts. Sophomore Sarah Galligan
(West Newbury, Mass./Pentucket Regional) also collected
five points with two goals and three assists for the Skyhawks,
while junior Hannah Anderson
(Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie) netted four goals off
the bench. Senior Jackie Ladino
(North Dartmouth, Mass./Dartmouth) chipped in with two
goals and an assist for three points.
Senior Kelly Pasquantonio
(Plainville, Mass./King Phillip) was the lone Merrimack
player with multiple goals with two, adding four ground balls and
two caused turnovers. Sophomore Mary Pasquantonio
(Plainville, Mass./King Phillip) was one of six Warriors
to finish with one goal, adding seven ground balls and three caused
turnovers.
Kelly Pasquantonio struck first to give Merrimack the early
advantage with an unassisted marker 3:11 into the contest. Galligan
knotted the score with an unassisted strike of her own just
48-seconds later to spark a 5-0 Stonehill run. She finished with a
goal and assist in that run, while Lynott netted three goals.
Merrimack scored three of the next four goals from senior
Mia Basile (Longmeadow, Mass./Minnechaug), junior
Liz Lyons (Westwood, Mass./Westwood) and freshman
Jen Pino (North Andover, Mass./North Andover) to
draw within 6-4 with 8:15 left in the first half. Ladino had a hand
in two Stonehill goals, scoring one and assisting on another from
freshman Heather Sullivan
(Andover, Mass./Andover), within a 12-second span to push
its lead back to 8-4 heading into the break.
Merrimack was still within three goals (10-7) after back-to-back
markers from the Pasquantonio sisters with 21:46 remaining in
regulation, but Stonehill clinched the win with another 5-0 run
that pushed its lead to 15-7 with 10:19 to play. Galligan had a
goal and two assists during that stretch, while Anderson scored
twice. Sophomore Colleen Strachan (Bedford,
Mass./Bedford) rounded the scoring for Merrimack with 6:35
left, but the Warriors could get no closer.
Stonehill will be seeking its tenth NE-10 tournament championship
tomorrow, having won a Conference-record nine-straight crowns from
2000-2008 before being edged in the semifinal round last year at
the University of New Haven. Adelphi looks to complete the NE-10
championship double tomorrow in its first year as a league member,
having already won the Conference's regular season
championship.
